How to Make a Commercial Real Estate Marketing Plan
- Walter Fitzgerald
- Jul 25
- 9 min read
A clear-cut guide to building a marketing plan that drives real results.
By Walter Fitzgerald
* A note on the author: At 83 years old, Walter isn’t your typical copywriter — and that’s exactly why we love him. His offbeat take on blogging and colorful storytelling make him a standout voice at ATYPICAL.
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Why Every CRE Professional Needs a Real Marketing Plan
Now, I’ve been around the block a few times, and if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that trying to market commercial real estate without a plan is like driving cross-country with no map, no gas, and a busted radio. You’ll get somewhere eventually, but you’ll waste a whole lot of time and money along the way.
That’s especially true with commercial real estate marketing.
These days, there’s no shortage of tools, platforms, and folks selling “growth hacks,” but most of it boils down to noise if you don’t know what you’re actually trying to achieve and why. To make sense, and success of it, you need to start with a solid foundation.
A smart marketing plan is about knowing your goal, understanding your audience, and building a system that helps you reach the right people at the right time.
This blog will guide you through creating a straightforward, effective, and results-driven commercial real estate marketing plan.
Whether you're leasing industrial space, repositioning a retail center, or courting new capital partners, the process is the same: plan first, execute with purpose, and always measure your progress.
We’re not here to reinvent the wheel. We’re here to grease it, align it, and get it rolling in the right direction.
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Define the Business Objective First (Not the Tactics)
Start with What You Want To Achieve
Before you start thinking about social media posts, email templates, or whether you need to be on LinkedIn, you’ve got to ask one simple question: What exactly are you trying to achieve?
Are you trying to:
Lease up a new office development?
Attract investment for a value-add opportunity?
Build name recognition for your brokerage?
Get tenants into a retail center that's been quiet for too long?
Each of these goals requires a different kind of message, audience, and approach. If you don’t define the target, you’ll end up throwing darts in the dark. And let me tell you, that’s no way to hit the bullseye.
I like to say: "Don’t hitch the wagon until you know where the horse is headed."
Your business objective is the horse. Everything else, like your ads, your website, your CRM, and even your budget, should follow behind that.
Keep the Objective Specific and Measurable
None of this “get more visibility” talk. That’s too vague to be useful. A solid commercial real estate marketing plan starts with an objective you can actually measure. Something like:
“Generate 25 qualified leads for our industrial listings in Phoenix within the next 90 days.”
“Increase property tour requests by 40% this quarter.”
“Build a list of 100 local investors for a new multifamily offering.”
You get the idea. Pick a goal that’s clear as a bell. When you can measure it, you can manage it.
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Identify and Understand Your Target Audience
Know Exactly Who You’re Trying to Reach
In commercial real estate marketing, clarity about your audience is everything. If you try to market to everyone, you end up connecting with no one. You need to be specific.
Are you trying to reach institutional investors, local business owners, national tenants, or private equity firms?
Defining your audience helps you decide:
What kind of content should be produced
Which channels to focus on
How to speak their language
When and where to show up
If you're promoting Class A office space in downtown Dallas, your approach will be very different than if you're leasing flex industrial units in the suburbs of Chicago.
Build Your Profile Based on Real-World Observations
Now I’ve been in this business long enough to know: folks will tell you everything you need to know, if you’re sharp enough to listen.
Whether it’s a phone call, a property tour, or a follow-up email, the truth tends to slip out in the questions they ask and the comments they make. And if you hear something more than once, you’d best believe it’s not just one person thinking it.
Here’s what you should be listening for on sales calls, tours, and follow-ups:
1. What questions keep coming up?
If people keep asking the same thing, that’s a sign your marketing hasn’t answered it yet. Write it down, bring it up at your next team meeting, and make sure your website, flyers, or whatever else you’re using covers it plain as day.
2. What do they say about your competitors?
Don’t just shrug when someone drops a competitor’s name, listen closely.
They might mention someone else being quicker, clearer, or easier to work with.
That’s not gossip. That’s market research you didn’t have to pay a dime for. Same goes for online chatter; Reddit threads, Google reviews, industry forums. You can learn a whole lot by reading what folks are saying when they think no one’s watching.
3. What are their biggest concerns?
Before people say “yes,” they usually hit the brakes.
Sometimes it’s about cost. Other times, it’s confusion or hesitation. Instead of steamrolling past it, take note.
That’s your cue to explain things better in your marketing, maybe in a FAQ section on your website, maybe with a short video on your socials, or maybe just clearer language across your communication channels.
4. Why do deals fall through?
When something falls through, don’t just say “on to the next.” Ask “why” and ask it every time.
Was it timing? Was it lack of trust? Was someone else more prepared?
Those reasons are gold. You take that feedback, fix what needs fixing, and next time, you’re ready.
Bottom line? If you’re paying attention, your prospects will teach you how to market to them. You just have to listen like it matters, because it does.
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Match the Message to the Medium
Before you start firing off posts like popcorn in a skillet, take a moment. Ask yourself: What are we actually trying to say here?
And more importantly, what kind of content do we have the time and tools to make?
Because here’s the truth: not every company has the spare time to be on every channel. But every company does need to make content that connects and get it in front of folks who’ll care.
First, Figure Out What You’re Making
Start with the content itself. This isn’t fancy marketing speak, just common sense. If you know what you’re producing, it’s a whole lot easier to know where it belongs.
You don’t need a film crew or a media empire. Just focus on the kind of things your team already talks about or gets asked about.
Here are some ideas of content that may be right for your business:
Market Reports – Neighborhood overviews, leasing stats, trends to watch.
Event Collateral – Flyers, slides, signage for panels, or expos.
New Listings – Videos, flyers, teasers, and overviews.
Product Announcements – For software companies, service providers, or ownership groups rolling out something new.
Team Spotlights – Introduce your people, highlight promotions, and show some personality.
Property Walkthroughs – Video tours, narrated, or quick-hits with music and captions.
Demo Videos – If you’re selling tech or a process, demonstrate how it works.
Explainer Content – Clear and simple “what this does” videos or articles.
Quick Insights – One stat, one chart, one point of view.
FAQs – Save your team time by answering what folks always ask.
Blog Posts – Long-form answers to common questions, how-tos, opinion pieces, or company news.
Write it all down. This list tells you what you’ll need help with, what you can reuse, and where it ought to go.
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Then, Pick the Right Channels for the Job
Here’s where folks tend to get it backwards. Don’t chase platforms, pick channels that fit the content you actually plan to create.
Sometimes, that’s easier said than done.
As mentioned, if you’re a smaller team working with just a few channels, you’re more than welcome to repost your content across the channels you’re currently using.
You don’t have to be everywhere. Just be consistent where it counts. Here’s a simple guide, sorted in the order most teams should be thinking about.
Website
Best for:
Blog posts
Company background
Market reports
FAQs
Case studies and product/service pages
Why: This is your front porch. Everything you do should lead back here; it’s where serious buyers, tenants, clients, or users land when they want to learn more and dig into your expertise and credentials.
Email
Best for:
Market updates
Listing alerts
Blog posts and new content
Event invitations
Reports and gated downloads
Why: Your email list is made up of folks who’ve already signaled interest. That’s no small thing. Use this channel to educate, update, and stay top of mind, but don’t waste their time.
LinkedIn
Best for:
Blog content
Reports and thought leadership
Team wins, hires, and culture
Product or service updates
Market insights
Why: It’s where most professionals in CRE go to stay sharp. Keep it helpful, keep it relevant, and you’ll stay in their feed for the right reasons.
Instagram
Best for:
Property visuals and behind-the-scenes looks
Team outings or events
Branded stats or quotes
New listings and announcements
Why: It’s where good photos and short videos shine. Great for firms that want to show some personality without straying too far from the business.
YouTube
Best for:
Demo videos
Full property walkthroughs
Interviews or case studies
Explainer videos
Recorded webinars
Why: This is your digital backroom, where people come when they’ve got time and interest. If you’re making quality video content, this is where it should live.
Facebook
Best for:
Event promotion
Listing highlights
Team content
Reposting videos or local news
Why: It still matters, especially for local outreach. If your audience includes small business owners, tenants, or operators, Facebook can be surprisingly effective.
X (Twitter)
Best for:
Industry commentary
Market news or reactions
Quick content shares (like blogs or insights)
Engaging with reporters or analysts
Why: It's the fast-talking cousin of LinkedIn, not for every CRE firm, but good for thought leadership, trend watching, or staying connected to media and influencers.
Short-Form Video Platforms
(TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, Facebook, LinkedIn)
Best for:
30–60 second walkthroughs
Quick tips and market stats
Staff intros or “a day in the life”
Micro-explainers or FAQs
Why: This is where attention lives. Short-form video doesn’t require a studio setup — just clear, confident clips with a point. One video can be repurposed across five platforms with minimal effort. That’s smart marketing.
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Build a Real Content Calendar (and Stick to It)
There’s an old saying: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” In marketing, that’s a one-way ticket to nowhere. You need a calendar, and you need to use it.
This isn’t just about plugging in a few social posts and calling it a day. We’re talking about laying down track so the whole train knows where it’s headed.
Start With What’s Coming Up
Begin by mapping out your fixed points: the events, launches, and important dates you already know about. That might include:
Industry conferences or panels
Leasing season kick-offs
Product launches or updates
Quarterly reports or market data releases
Holiday downtimes or year-end wrap-ups
These become your anchors. Everything else gets built around them.
Plan the Content You’ll Create
Now that you know what’s happening and when, it’s time to plot your content.
Include every format you plan to use:
Reports
Video content (demos, walkthroughs, testimonials)
Property listings
Event promos
Team spotlights
FAQs or knowledge shares
Each item should include:
Topic or title
Format (video, blog, carousel, etc.)
Due date
Go-live date
Think of it like setting up a tent. The frame comes first, then you stretch the fabric.
Assign Channels to Each Piece
Once you’ve got your list of content, figure out where each piece should go. You already know the strengths of each platform, so now’s the time to apply that.
For example:
A blog post might go on your website, with promo snippets on LinkedIn, email, and maybe X if the topic is timely.
A property walkthrough gets posted to YouTube, then clipped for Instagram Reels, LinkedIn, Facebook, and TikTok.
A team win or promotion might just go on LinkedIn and Instagram, but with a short write-up on the blog for good measure.
For every piece of content, document:
Primary platform(s)
Supporting platforms
Content versioning (i.e. long vs. short video, static vs. carousel, etc.)
Assign Owners and Deadlines
Even the best plan falls apart if nobody knows who’s doing what. Make sure every piece of content has:
A creator (writer, designer, video editor)
A reviewer or approver
A due date for each step
A final publish date
Put It All Into One Central Calendar
This is the piece most folks skip. Once you’ve got everything mapped out, put it all into one place, a real content calendar that tracks:
What’s going out
When it’s going live
Where it’s being published
Who’s responsible for each part
This can be a spreadsheet, a calendar tool, or whatever works best for your team.
The important thing is that it’s clear, shared, and up to date. A calendar turns guesswork into teamwork, and it’ll save your bacon when things get busy.
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Pull It All Together and Get Moving!
By now, you’ve got the makings of a real plan: clear audience, right content, right channels, and a calendar to keep it on track.
The next step is simple: start!
You don’t need to do everything at once. Pick one or two things, do them well, and keep at it. The key is consistency. Over time, you’ll figure out what’s working and what needs adjusting.
This isn’t about being flashy. It’s about staying top of mind with the people you want to work with.
So, keep it steady, keep it useful, and don’t overcomplicate it. That’s how solid commercial real estate marketing gets done.
There you have it! Build a plan, stick to it, and don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good.
Like my granddad used to say, "You can’t steer a parked truck." Get it in gear and adjust as you go.
As always,
Stay ATYPICAL 😊
